AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X vs NVIDIA L40 Comparison

The NVIDIA L40 and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X occupy very different points on the professional GPU timeline, and the recorded benchmark data reflects that gap plainly. Both cards are now end-of-life, but the L40 sits in the 99th percentile of all GPUs in the database while the Vega 64X sits at the 92nd, and the single direct head-to-head result between them shows the L40 winning by a decisive margin. This comparison is less a contest between peers and more a look at how two generations of silicon design, memory strategy, and accelerator hardware translate into measurable compute performance.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains one direct comparison between these two cards, and it is not close. In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA L40 scores 330926 against 78467 for the Radeon Pro Vega 64X, a delta of 321.7 percent in the L40's favor. That is more than a marginal lead: the L40 delivers over four times the measured OpenCL throughput of the Vega 64X on the same test.

Context from each card's rival set reinforces the scale of the gap. The L40's average benchmark score across the database is 284111, placing it within a tight cluster of current professional hardware. The RTX 6000 Ada Generation averages 287237, just 1.1 percent ahead of it, while the L40S leads by 3.9 percent with an average of 295763. The L40 in turn beats the NVIDIA L20 by 13.1 percent and trails only the AMD Instinct MI300X, which sits 10.7 percent ahead at 317994. In other words, the L40 competes with data center accelerators.

The Vega 64X averages 80959. Its nearest rivals are a different class of hardware entirely: the Radeon PRO W6600 averages 81995 (1.3 percent ahead), the GeForce RTX 5090 averages 79842 (1.4 percent behind), and the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB and 12 GB average 79605 and 79396 respectively, 1.7 and 2 percent behind. Note that the RTX 5090 appearing in this range applies only to the specific averaged benchmark data recorded for the Vega 64X, but it still shows the AMD card scoring in territory occupied by much-discussed parts.

The Vega 64X also has a Geekbench Metal score of 83450 recorded, a test the L40 does not have an entry for, so no direct comparison is possible there. The L40 records a Geekbench Vulkan score of 237295 with no Vega 64X counterpart. The only common ground is OpenCL, and the L40 swept it.

Architecture Differences

These cards come from different eras of design philosophy. The L40 uses the AD102 chip on the Ada Lovelace architecture, built on TSMC's 5 nm process, with 76,300 million transistors packed into a 609 mm² die for a density of 125.3M per mm². The Vega 64X uses the Vega 10 chip on GCN 5.0, fabricated by GlobalFoundries on a 14 nm process, with 12,500 million transistors across 495 mm² and a density of 25.3M per mm². The density difference alone tells the story of roughly a decade of process advancement between the two designs, and the L40 was released in October of 2022 while the Vega 64X arrived in March of 2019.

The compute resource counts diverge just as sharply. The L40 has 18176 shading units, 568 texture mapping units, 192 render output units, 142 RT cores, and 568 tensor cores. The Vega 64X has 4096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with no RT cores or tensor cores at all. That last point matters most for modern workloads: the L40 carries dedicated hardware for ray tracing and machine learning operations, while the Vega 64X has neither. Anyone running inference, ray-traced rendering, or GPU-accelerated AI tooling will find no hardware acceleration path on the AMD card.

Clock behavior reflects the different silicon limits. The L40 runs a base clock of 735 MHz and boosts to 2490 MHz, a wide range enabled by the 5 nm node. The Vega 64X runs between 1250 MHz base and 1468 MHz boost on its 14 nm process. The resulting theoretical rates heavily favor the L40: 478.1 GPixel/s pixel rate and 1,414.3 GTexel/s texture rate, versus 93.95 GPixel/s and 375.8 GTexel/s for the Vega 64X.

Memory is where the Vega 64X makes its most interesting argument. It uses 16 GB of HBM2 on a 2048 bit bus running at an effective 18 Gbps versus the L40's GDDR6, and delivers 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth, a genuinely wide interface for its generation. The L40 counters with sheer capacity and more total throughput: 48 GB of GDDR6 on a 384 bit bus with effective speeds of 18 Gbps, producing 864.0 GB/s. The L40 has three times the memory capacity and substantially more bandwidth, though the Vega 64X's HBM2 design keeps it respectable on paper.

Precision handling differs too. The L40 produces 90.52 TFLOPS FP32 and 90.52 TFLOPS FP16 at a 1:1 ratio. The Vega 64X produces 12.03 TFLOPS FP32 and 24.05 TFLOPS FP16 at a 2:1 ratio, meaning its half precision rate is double its full precision rate. Even at its best precision advantage, the Vega 64X remains far behind the L40's raw compute output.

Where Each One Wins

The data shows one winner in direct measurement. The L40 wins the only head-to-head benchmark recorded, Geekbench OpenCL, by 321.7 percent, and its score profile against RTX 6000 Ada, L40S, L20, and MI300X rivals places it firmly in professional accelerator territory. For compute-heavy professional work, rendering, and anything that touches the 142 RT cores or 568 tensor cores, the L40 is the clear pick from the recorded numbers.

The Vega 64X wins nothing in the head-to-head data, but its strengths are structural rather than measured. It belongs to the Radeon Pro Mac generation, its display output is listed as portable device dependent, its slot width is IGP, and it has no power connectors, meaning it draws power through its host platform rather than external cabling. Its Metal score of 83450 also confirms a functioning Apple graphics API path, which the L40's benchmark set does not include. For an Apple-specific context where Metal matters and external power connectors are not an option, the Vega 64X is the only one of the two that fits.

The Vega 64X also has the lower TDP at 250 W against 300 W for the L40, a modest difference but a real one for thermally constrained enclosures.

Specification Differences

The specifications that differ between these two cards:

• Process node: 5 nm TSMC (L40) versus 14 nm GlobalFoundries (Vega 64X)
• Transistors: 76,300 million versus 12,500 million
• Die size: 609 mm² versus 495 mm²
• Transistor density: 125.3M/mm² versus 25.3M/mm²
• Clocks: 735 MHz base, 2490 MHz boost versus 1250 MHz base, 1468 MHz boost
• Memory: 48 GB GDDR6, 384 bit, 864.0 GB/s versus 16 GB HBM2, 2048 bit, 512.0 GB/s
• Shading units: 18176 versus 4096
• TMUs: 568 versus 256
• ROPs: 192 versus 64
• RT cores: 142 versus none
• Tensor cores: 568 versus none
• FP32: 90.52 TFLOPS versus 12.03 TFLOPS
• FP16: 90.52 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 24.05 TFLOPS (2:1)
• TDP: 300 W versus 250 W
• Slot width: Dual-slot versus IGP
• Power connectors: 1x 16-pin versus none
• Bus interface: PCIe 4.0 x16 versus PCIe 3.0 x16
• Display outputs: 4x DisplayPort 1.4a versus portable device dependent
• DirectX support: 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus 12 (12_1)
• Vulkan: 1.4 versus 1.3
• Physical dimensions: 267 mm length and 111 mm height recorded for the L40 only
• Suggested PSU: 700 W for the L40, none listed for the Vega 64X

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the L40 in the direct benchmark?

A: The L40 scored 330926 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 78467 for the Vega 64X, a 321.7 percent advantage.

Q: Which card has more memory?

A: The L40 has 48 GB of GDDR6 with 864.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Vega 64X has 16 GB of HBM2 with 512.0 GB/s.

Q: Does either card support ray tracing hardware?

A: The L40 has 142 RT cores and 568 tensor cores. The Vega 64X has neither.

Q: Are these cards still in production?

A: No. Both are listed as end-of-life. The L40 was released in October 2022 and the Vega 64X in March 2019.

Q: How do they rank against all GPUs in the database?

A: The L40 sits in the 99th percentile with an average score of 284111. The Vega 64X sits in the 92nd percentile with an average of 80959.

Q: What platforms do they target?

A: The L40 belongs to the Server Ada (Lxx) generation with a standard dual-slot form factor and 4x DisplayPort 1.4a. The Vega 64X belongs to the Radeon Pro Mac (Vega Series) with IGP slot width, no power connectors, and device-dependent display output.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the recorded data, the choice is straightforward outside of one niche. The L40 wins the only common benchmark by 321.7 percent, offers three times the memory capacity, delivers 90.52 TFLOPS of FP32 compute against 12.03 TFLOPS, and includes hardware the Vega 64X simply lacks in its RT and tensor cores. Its rival set, RTX 6000 Ada within 1.1 percent and MI300X at 10.7 percent ahead, confirms it belongs in the professional accelerator class. Anyone choosing between these two for compute, rendering, or AI workloads should take the L40 without hesitation.

The Vega 64X earns its place only where its platform constraints are the deciding factor. It is a Mac-oriented part with a recorded Metal benchmark, no external power connectors, IGP installation, and a 250 W TDP. In that specific environment, where the L40's 16-pin power connector, dual-slot footprint, and DisplayPort outputs do not apply, the Vega 64X remains the workable option, competitive at the 92nd percentile against parts like the Radeon PRO W6600 and the Tesla P100 variants. Everywhere else, the data overwhelmingly favors the NVIDIA L40.